Music has always been woven into the fabric of our lives. Even if you don’t find yourself listening to it as often as you once did, whether life got busy or your tastes changed, there’s no denying that at some point, a song has moved you. A rhythm caught your attention, a melody lingered in your mind, or a beat made you stop and groove, even if just for a moment. Music has that power, it connects, it lingers, it stays. Once a rising force in the music industry, Charlie worked alongside a group of trusted partners, building something electric, something that was meant to last. Together, they chased success, crafted sounds, and stood on the edge of something legendary. But ambition has a way of souring trust. Behind the scenes, loyalty fractured, greed took hold, and betrayal struck when Charlie least expected it.
Now, he’s stepping back into the spotlight, not just for revenge, but to reclaim his sound, his legacy, and maybe, force those who wronged him to face the truth of what they became. So get ready. You won’t just be listening, you’ll be moving, feeling, and grooving your way through Charlie Disco’s newest journey. The stage is set, the beat is building…
Let’s get this show on the road.
ℹ️ Previewed on PC | Co-written by Aaron & Colombo, who both played the Early Access Version of Dead as Disco | Preview code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion of the writers.
| Developer | Brain Jar Games, Inc. |
| Publisher | Brain Jar Games, Inc. |
Things I liked!
- Stylish | Dead as Disco looks very good. The developers describe it as “martial arts meets music video” on their Steam page, and the visuals do sometimes look just as absurd as some music videos do, in a good way. It’s very flashy, colourful, and sometimes has neon too. The character designs are also very interesting, have a lot of personality, and fit this musical universe pretty well. I also feel like this game has design inspirations from Suda51, as it does look similar to No More Heroes. You can customise Charlie Disco with different clothes, change his hair colour, his drumsticks, and in the future, you’ll be able to change his body type. The Dive Bar, which is essentially a hub area, can also be customised with experience.
- Music to our ears | The soundtrack is incredibly well made, with many recognisable tracks remixed by various artists that also act as the titles main bosses. Maniac was heavily featured in the demo a few months back by Hemlock, the first boss you fight. Those of you familiar with the original song by Michael Sembello will be impressed to hear the hybrid punk rock cover that sounds not only awesome, but something that can honestly stand on its own two feet as an original composition. It has been incredibly well modernised and fits the theme that Dead as Disco is going for. There are many other songs that are featured remixes, including original creations. Shout out to Rhythm Drive by Arora, and Mensch Machine by MachtWort.
- Streamer Safe | Dead as Disco features a “Streamer-safe” OST that lets you safely play to your audience and also lets you make YouTube content without fear of being demonitised or sanctioned for playing copyrighted music. This is a fantastic additional that I think many people will appreciate. Since this game is dripping with stylish combat, and went viral, there will be plenty of people wanting to share this on their various social channels.
- Add your own music | Dead as Disco offers a “Free Play mode” where you play through a song until it ends or play it in endless mode, and you can choose between all songs from the game or add your own, which is definitely interesting. Being able to fight alongside the music to your favourite bands is something I never knew I needed, and it is incredibly easy to do. Once you select it, a window pops up on your PC where you drag the music into, and it just works. It’s amazingly simple and adds so much extra to the game despite being in early access.
- Challenges to complete | There are additional challenges to complete with certain additional objectives such as pulling off specific moves a number of times, defeating a certain amount of enemies, and defeat enemies within a specific timeframe like there were in the Batman Arkham games.
Mixed & disliked!
- Fight to the beat | I loved the Batman Arkham series, and I do feel the strong influence it had in the combat department of Dead as Disco, with counters, forced dodges from some attacks, “executions”, and abilities that remind me of Batman gadgets and moves. However, I feel like the rhythm moves through you with some combos, and not the other way around. Despite not being the best at going through the rhythm, which also stopped me from playing Hi-Fi Rush, I believe that rhythm doesn’t have as big a part in combat as it should have, with this being a music-centred game. At least having a heavy rhythm mode should be an option.
- Early access | One thing that has to be clear here is that this is an early access build. Which means that there isn’t a whole lot of content available yet, with only four levels/boss fights, and these are very good, but also quick to get through, meaning you’ll play through them all in about two hours, depending on how skilful you are, even closer to an hour.
CONCLUSION
The content available in the Dead as Disco early access is really good and is certainly addictive, but if you are expecting more songs, and more bosses, I would temper your expectations. If you are okay with replaying through missions and playing challenges, including your own music, there is a lot to like here, but with early access games, it is just a matter of waiting for more official content to be added.
Hi there, I’m Colombo, I live in Brazil and I’ve been gaming since I was around 5 years old. Xbox became my main platform on the Xbox 360 era, before that I had played a bit on PC, Polystation (basically a skinned SNES), PlayStation 1 and 2. I really enjoy to experience immersive worlds, but I also enjoy playing silly games to have a laugh or just have fun.
